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I've just finished two of your Norman Lewis books, Naples '44 and The Honoured Society and I just wanted to thank you for publishing such absolutely fantastic, and well put together, books. Now I know what you do I shall keep an eye out for your other titles. Many many thanks.
Philip Kelly

One of the very best travel lists.
William Dalrymple

I find this in an old encyclopaedia. Eland: the largest of the antelopes, fast, independent, almost the size of an ox, and unusually robust. Now almost extinct in Cape Colony, but surviving elsewhere. It has a short mane and never sheds its horns. In publishing - they might have added - it is pretty much the same, with a nearly extinct integrity, an eccentric passion for quality, its editorial horns intact, and a wonderful survivor. We are all in its debt.
Colin Thubron

Eland Books have the ultimate list for travellers and explorers. If you have read all their books then you will know what it's all about and will hardly need to go anywhere yourself. It is one of my daydreams to be rich enough to give complete sets to all the intelligent young I know.
Robin Hanbury-Tenison

There are books and writers that have the capacity to shift our view of the world, or of one particular place. Then, for some reason or other, many of them are forgotten or lost. Eland brings them back to us, and beautifully so.
Justine Hardy

Four cheers for Eland! For rescuing multitudinous wonderful classics from scandalous obscurity. For introducing important new authors to the reading public. For sticking doggedly to high editorial and production standards. And, of course, for not featuring a single celebrity autobiography on its noble list. Congratulations!
Sara Wheeler

Eland is the 'Ultima Thule' for fine travel writing. Its list, teeming with the classics, is mouth-watering, its sumptuously produced books lifelong companions to treasure.
Justin Marozzi

It is, quite simply, the most consistently fine publishing house in the English-speaking world, every title a cracker.
Nicholas Shakespeare

For twenty-five years Eland has revived, preserved and celebrated some of the very best travel writing, keeping alive individual voices, travellers tales, even glimpses of ways of life that our arrogant, disposable society would have otherwise lost to history.
Rory Maclean

No British publisher has a list so enticingly eclectic or so consistently rewarding. Eland has established itself as a National Treasure.
Fergus Fleming

'Travelling . . . in books,' said Fielding's Parson Adams, is 'the only way of travelling by which any knowledge is to be acquired.' A slight overstatement, perhaps; but today, with real travel a rarity and records of past journeys all the more precious, the parson's words are truer than they ever were. Knowledge, though, is only part of it. To read Beames on Bengal, for instance, or Harris on Morroco, is not just to be edified; it is also to be enthralled and entertained. By bringing these authors - and the others on their splendid list - back into print, Eland have enriched a whole new generation of travellers-in-books.
Tim Mackintosh-Smith

Eland is a veritable treasure trove, a home to the finest travel literature. There are plenty of far larger publishers who must blush with embarrassment when compared to them.
Tahir Shah

When I think of elands, I imagine pace, elegance and adventure on far horizons. When I think of Eland, I recall the same qualities in well-selected, well edited books.
Felipe Fernandez-Armesto

Eland keeps the art of travel writing alive, it is one of the few publishers remaining that always produces a list that is impossible to resist.
Tarquin Hall

It is thanks above all to Eland Books that we are reminded of how great and important travel writing can be: they have kept alive the reputation of authors who have expanded enormously our appreciation and understanding of the world. I for one am indebted to them more than to almost any other publisher, if only for having first introduced me to such a magnificent writer as Norman Lewis.
Michael Jacobs

Sleek and speedy by name, sleek and elegant by nature - and unfailingly original.
Robert Lacey

Book for book the best list in London.
Geoffrey Wheatcroft, Evening Standard

Beautifully produced … Eland serves as a reminder that a book has value as an object, without losing sight of the fact that the contents are what matter. We'll all have our own views on what deserves to be republished, but it doesn't look like Eland will run out of ideas any time soon.
Mick Herron, Geographical magazine

Travellers - whether those who desire to explore the world in mind or body, will be unable to resist Eland… the publisher searches out and reprints books that catch the essence of a place and are written with intimacy, humour and an infectious delight in story telling …incomparable.
Country Life

Under the guidance and inspiration of first John Hatt and now Barnaby Rogerson, Eland has developed into Britain's leading independent publisher of inspirational travel writing. In a media world increasingly bereft of intelligent travel editorial, it is heartening to still be able to turn to Eland's inspirational list.
Jamie Dunford-Wood, Travel Intelligence

I thoroughly approve of them [Eland] because they always reprint brilliant travel books and also novels set in foreign countries.’
Dame Diana Rigg on BBC Radio 4’s A GOOD READ with Sue Macgregor

BBC Radio Four’s A Good Read - 10 February 2009
Kate Mosse chose Scum of the Earth by Arthur Koestler

Shortlisted for The Authors’ Club Dolman Best Travel Book Award June 2009
The Island That Dared: Journeys in Cuba by Dervla Murphy

BBC Radio Four’s A Good Read - 2 December 2008
Diana Rigg chose The Ginger Tree by Oswald Wynd

A Sense of Place
Good Reading, October 2007

10 of the Key Influences on Travel Writing
Giles Foden, Conde Nast Traveller

Way of the World
Barnaby Rogerson on
The Book Show, Australian National Radio

Recent Review Coverage

THE ISLAND THAT DARED: JOURNEYS IN CUBA
By Dervla Murphy

Shortlisted for The Authors’ Club Dolman Best Travel Book Award 2009

‘There has always been a raw energy about her work that sets her apart from some of her paler contemporaries.  The merest mention of Full Tilt, her debut travelogue, an account of a high-spirited, white-knuckle bicycle ride from Ireland to India in 1963, make Murphy fans go weak at the knees.  Now in her mid-70s, she has written at least 25 books but, judging by this volume she’s in no danger of mellowing … Fierce, highly moral and uncompromising, this is classic Murphy.  In an often anodyne world, she remains an original…she is a refreshingly defiant voice, straight-talking and no-nonsense.’  Justin Marozzi, The Financial Times

‘Dervla Murphy is indefatigable – some would say incorrigible.  At 77 (no secret – she confesses her age), she has just completed a series of visits to Cuba and has fallen hook, line and sinker – for its lively, courageous and often impoverished people.  Miss Murphy’s great strength as a travel writer ahs always been her capacity to relate to the people among whom she finds herself… she brings a unique personal warmth to those she encounters.’ John Ure, Country Life

‘This most independent of adventurers…writes from the experience of doing Cuba the hard way.  She cannot see one of the island’s ubiquitous queues without joining it, whether it’s for bread or a seat in a bone-shaking railway carriage…She has the knack of eliciting confidences and even affection from people who have learnt to be wary.  Dervla Murphy’s travelogue is a close as any foreigner is likely to get to the life of Cubans on the brink.  Castro’s pluck tub, Granma, is still on show in Havana, where visitors can admire her four-square lines.  I hope Murphy will forgive me for saying that The Island That Dared allows us to do the same of another game old girl.’  Stephen Smith, The Telegraph

 ‘Murphy shows herself to be an acute observer of the political scene as well as displaying the exact physical notation and bloody-mindedness on which she has built her reputation.  This should be required reading for all those magnetised by dreams of a holiday in Havana.’
Giles Foden, Conde Nast Traveller

‘There aren’t many grannies like Dervla Murphy. Deciding that her three grand-daughters (aged six to ten) are ready ‘to benefit from some real travelling’, she decamps to Cuba with them and Mum in tow, and is soon introducing them to the pleasures of sleeping on mossie-plagued beaches minus food, map or any clear plan. ‘This is blissful!’ she exults. ‘But there’s stones everywhere!’ protest the Trio.   Murphy’s Thesiger-like disregard for modern life (‘my genes reject car ownership, TV, washing machines, cell phones…’ – the list continues) finds a perfect home in maverick, anti-consumerist Cuba. Once freed from the encumbrances of small children (and gloriously past caring, you sense, what anyone thinks of her opinions) she ventures further into Fidel’s island, nosing into the country’s politics, culture, history and future. Of herself, she cites the Irish proverb recommending ‘the old dog (or bitch) for the hard road’. Fair enough: acute, funny, and utterly her own woman, she remains in her eighth decade a traveller – and writer – of rare pedigree.’
Dan Linstead  Wanderlust

‘‘Travel legend’ Murphy has long been obsessed with post-revolutionary Cuba and this travelogue recounts her engaging love affair with the island mixing reportage and commentary.’  The Scotsman

‘There is no stopping Dervla Murphy …The Island That Dared is a unique record of ‘Cuba on the cusp’, well researched, it is crammed with fascinating information such as Bacardi’s interests in the Cuban American National Foundation – an organisation that promotes acts that ‘destabilise’ Castroism … Murphy’s well-loved blend of honesty and intrepid individuality is as apparent here as in any of her previous work.’ J. S. Tennant, The Irish Times

‘The new book is no rough guide to Cuba. It’s a substantial piece of work, with careful research about the Caribbean island’s history, politics and economy, woven with her observations on the ground.  She sees the political system there – which allows the population little freedom of expression or freedom of movement – as a viable alternative to capitalism.’  Kate Butler, The Sunday Times, Ireland

‘Intrepid and indefatigable in pursuit of experience … Murphy discovers an island in transition from hard-line socialism to moderate capitalism.  The faded charm persist, but so does poverty, which is borne with a patriotic pride that continues to baffle Batista-nostalgic critics.’ The Times

‘Investigating the real, modern nation, rather than the pre-packaged one, with candour, she uncovers many truths along the way.’  Time Out

GALAPAGOS: Through Writers’ Eyes
Edited by John Hickman

‘[This] stylish guided tour ranges from the Incas via Alexander Selkirk, the original Crusoe … to a creepy tale of real-life murder on Charles’ Island in the thirties, described as “worthy of Agatha Christie at the top of her form.”  Though war, piracy, colonial jostling and tourism all left their mark, Darwin’s awed appreciations of the archipelago’s unique natural assets is the most significant and readable chapter.’  The Independent

‘The Galapagos archipelago is one of the few places on earth that was free of human settlement and interference until the 19th century.  The islands had been known about for 450 years but those who actually visited were explorers, pirates or shipwreck victims.  Hickman suggests that the unusual human visitors to the islands have been almost as interesting as the wildlife, and calls on the writings of Charles Darwin, Herman Melvin, Fray Tomas, Lord Byron and others to tell the human history of the Galapagos.  Infused as it is with the wild and beautiful spirit of the islands, this is eminently readable and utterly fascinating.’  The Good Book Guide

 ‘Float away to the ultimate island escape with Galapagos.’ Wanderlust

JAPAN: Through Writers’ Eyes
Edited by Elizabeth Ingrams

‘Just as Lost in Translation extracts humour from present-day culture shock in Tokyo so did the Dutch voyager Engelbert Kaempfer in the 17th century.  He had to approach the Shogun “crouching with head to the floor like a lobster” before “performing innumerable monkey tricks”… This lively anthology will be equally enjoyed by Japanophiles and the merely curious.’  The Independent

ABOUT THIS MAN CALLED ALI
By Amal Ghandour

‘This vivid account of the life of the Arab artist Ali Jabri is more than a fascinating biography: it is a history of the Middle East told through the fortunes of a powerful Syrian family.’  Helena Kennedy, QC

‘The worlds of Lawrence of Arabia, of Cavafy and of contemporary art come together in this life of Ali Jabri, the first biography of a modern Arab artist.’  Philip Mansel

‘Ali was a scion of the ancient and decaying aristocracy in Aleppo, Syria, who sometimes styled himself, improbably and ironically, “the last descendant of Saladin”. ..his was a life of “parallel universes.”  He found in these contrasting worlds ecstasy and inspiration, but also injury, frustration and fear…it’s sadly ironic that Ghandour’s amicable but unflinching work… should be coming out in Britain now, only weeks after Amnesty International denounced the murder of dozens of homosexuals in what the Bush administrations used to refer to as liberated Iraq.’  Newsweek

‘Ghandour paints a thrilling, infuriating, thought-provoking portrait of a family in decline and a people in chaos…Our encounter with Jabri is broad-brush, impressionistic…Beginning at the end, the book re-casts Jabri’s life as an epic clash between a doting aunt and her brilliant nephew whose love is soured by unfathomable grief…her chaotic, opinionated exploration of Jabri’s life brings us much closer to the artist than any objective, comprehensive summation ever could.’  The Daily Star, Beirut

‘Amal Ghandour does a stupendous task in piecing together the puzzle of Ali’s life using…anecdotes, artworks and letter from diaries … she [reveals] the lasting effects of colonial attitudes and how the twin brutalities of the Arab world – Islamic fundamentalism and nationalistic military regimes – have waged war against the cultural and political possibilities of the region.’  Qind

First published in 1990, Hopeful Monsters was awarded the Whitbread Book of the Year

Quite simply, the best English novel to have been written since the Second World War.   A. N. Wilson, The Evening Standard

A novel of enormous ambition … a book that takes on just about every major idea, every dominant social movement, every significant political event of our time – a virtual intellectual anthology of the 20th century, in fictional form.
Daniel Stern, New York Times Book Review

The most ambitious English novel written in the past
50 years … an amazing achievement.  Washington Post

A rich panorama of 20th century politics and ideas and an affecting love story, the novel combines the epic sweep and narrative drive of popular fiction and the intellectual authority of the best of Milan Kundera or Saul Bellow. Newsday

HONEYMOONS: Journeys from the Altar
Edited by Roger Hudson and Rose Baring

‘Honeymoons are a nervous time.  Even for couples who’ve been together for years, that dramatic move forward, that formalised commitment, shifts things.  The period immediately afterwards is one whose very emphasis on romance and starry-eyed joy inevitably also invites the opposite.  Happily, this anthology acknowledges that if the course of true love never did run smooth, it is especially bumpy during the holiday after marriage…the fiction is well-chosen, the factual fascinates’.  Wendy Holden, Daily Mail

‘The differences between people rather than times are what give primal zest to these extracts – some from letters and diaries, others from novels, short stories, poems and even (the delicious Private Lives) a play.  What happens when two individuals who hardly know each other are suddenly left alone together?  Sometimes the results are comic … sometimes, they are ominous, even appalling …and sometimes they are provocatively contradictory… nuggets of innocence, ignorance, revelation and the shock of the morning after… James Fergusson, Country Life

‘Honeymoons is a wedding gift with a hidden barb… There are beguiling romantic interludes here… and lush descriptions of the tentative path to sexual abandonment… but Roger Hudson and Rose Baring’s selection of literary glimpses into the early days of connubial bliss deliberately drags the reader, naughtily, into dicey territory.’ The Observer

‘A honeymoon is one of the most significant journeys many people will take, and so it’s a holiday loaded with anticipation, and the potential for disappointment.  Not surprisingly, such trips provide rich material for a writer and this fine anthology includes extracts both from the trips of real people, as well as passages from some of the great and more obscure works of literature…. It makes for gripping reading with vivid descriptions of place…and moving and funny extracts from the emotional journey couples take following marriage.’  The Sunday Telegraph

‘the potential for blissful happiness or bitter disappointment is covered in stories from Yorkshire to Switzerland.’  Traveller Magazine